Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-21
E SKINIBUS UNUM.
\ Man Who Wears 160 Pisces of Other
Mems skin.

4 Man Who Wears 100 Pisces of Other
Mems skin.
On the 18th OF last May Peter McIn-
tyre, who possessed local reputation as
sprinter, was severely burned in fire
at Central park. The burns on his feet
healed rapidly enough, but the flesh on
his shoulders and arms was so scorched
that the ordinary process of nature was
insufficient to restore it to its former
condition. It was determined by the
physicians to graft skin taken from other
people on the exposed surface and
thus hasten the cure. Six weeks ago
the operation was begun, and since
then over 1G0 pieces Of skin have been
fastened on raw parts. 1t will be several
weeks before the last graft shall have
been attached and the oandages removed.
ALI the skin was taken from the friends
of Mcintyre, who willingly contributed
the required portions Of their cuticle.
Each graft was small circular piece
ABOUT an eighth of an inch in diameter. It
was taken from the arm. Each subject
rolled up his sleeve in McIntyre's room,
and the surgeon raised the skin with
fine pair of forceps. Then with circular
scissors, he clipped the skin off leaving a
round red mark on the arm, and imme-
diately placed the graft on McIntyre's
wound. These gratis have been taken
from about forty men. Usually four were
supplied by eacn, but some Of the sick
mans friends have more than that num-
Der of pink marks on their left arms.
The gratis were planted about an inch
apart, as each little piece grows ABOUT
that distance over the flesh and unltes
nit n hn 9TH olzt,, $hoN Tk -,
Transferred Immediately from one body to
another, as the tissue must be imbued
with vitality when placed on the raW
flesh, and it would lose all life IN g
short while. The foreign character of
the skin may be detected after the healing
process is over, as it does not change it's
particular hue, and is also devoid of hair
and sweat glands. It's advantage is great,
inasmuch as when such burns cicatrize
the muscles are drawn up, and not only
is movement restrained, but deformity
follows. The grated skin is elastic and
obviates all such unpleasant results. Nc
Intyre looks anything but an athlete now.
He has been & sick man since the fire, and
has fallen away very much. During the
past three days he said yesterday, he had
| eaten nothing. The Caledonian club will
SlNC Aiiu Ou evening.
Instances of the grating of many pieces
OF skin, as in this case, have not been
common here. The process itself is COM
parstivelv new, having been discovered in
1859 by RiverdeG, Partisan surgeon.
he noticed little islets of skin growing on
raw surfaces, found that they had pro-
ceeded from little germs of skin that had
not been destroyed, and concluded that
trensplated skin would thrive in the same
manner Ithad previously been supposed
that it would take covering of cuticule as
| large as the wound or sore itself to make
a successful grating, and such large area
Of skin could not be obtained. Since then
the various kinds of ekin-tne tissue Of
chickens, frogs, young pigs and other ami
mals-have been expersmented with, bat
for successful transplAtipg human skin
has been found necessary.